Technical

Note –
Optimize
Windows
10

Citrix.com 1
 Table of Contents

Removing Unnecessary Windows 10 Applications 3

Scheduled Task Considerations 4

Microsoft Customer Experience Program 4

Safety 5

Maintenance \ Optimization \ Protection 6

HDX Optimizations 13

OS and User Optimization 13

User Experience Optimizations 14

Optimized for WAN 15

Printing from non-Windows end points (Mac and Linux) 17

www.citrix.com | Technical Note | Windows 10 Optimizations 2

 This technical note a collection of Windows 10
optimizations best practices used by Citrix architects in
the field. It is not official recommendation from either
Citrix or Microsoft, and is only intended as a starting
point for administrators to evaluate in their own
staging environment.

If deployed correctly, these optimizations can

significantly improve the scalability and user-response
of Windows 10 virtual desktops delivered using Citrix
XenDesktop.

Disclaimer

This White paper is intended for administrators deploying

Windows 10 in a XenDesktop 7.x environment. Many of the
examples reference non-persistent environments, but the
modifications also apply to persistent desktops. The materials in
this document are provided “as is” and Citrix hereby disclaims all
express or implied representations.

Removing Unnecessary
Windows 10 Applications
Windows 10 contains many applications after a fresh
installation. After installation, Windows 10 Enterprise
contains over 50 applications already in my start
menu, many of these are the system apps that we
want to keep like PowerShell and Command Prompt,
but there are many others that are unneeded, and will
consume unneeded resources.

Look at the Windows 10 list of default apps by running

the following PowerShell command:

Get-ProvisionedAppXPackage -Online|Select DisplayName

www.citrix.com | Technical Note | Windows 10 Optimizations 3

 Before creating a master image, the following
PowerShell command can be run to cleanup all
unnecessary applications.

Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | Remove-AppxPackage

Scheduled Task Considerations

Many of the scheduled tasks listed below were
designed to enhance a persistent Operating System.
Many Windows 10 instances in XenDesktop are
provisioned on-the-fly and discarded upon log-off,
using MCS or PVS. The scheduled tasks below may be
removed. Below is a sample PowerShell script that
removes all task not named Outlook or GoToMeeting.

#Remove all scheduled tasks except task to pin outlook to

taskbar

#if -notmatch -or does not work here

$schedule = New-Object -com Schedule.Service

$schedule.connect()

$tasks = $schedule.getfolder("\").gettasks(0)

foreach ($task in ($tasks | select Name)) {

if ($task -notmatch "G2MUpdateTask"){

$task2 = $task

if ($task2 -notmatch "outlook"){

SchTasks /Delete /TN $($task2.name) /f

}} }

Microsoft Customer Experience Program

Tasks Description

Aggregates and uploads Application

Application
Telemetry information if opted-in to the
Experience \ Appraiser
Microsoft Customer Experience

www.citrix.com | Technical Note | Windows 10 Optimizations 4

 Improvement Program.

Application Collects program telemetry information if

Experience \ opted-in to the Microsoft Customer
ProgramDataUpdater Experience Improvement Program

This task collects and uploads autochk SQM

data if opted-in to the Microsoft Customer
AutoCHK \ Proxy Experience Improvement Program.

If the user has consented to participate in

Customer Experience the Windows Customer Experience
Improvement Program Improvement Program, this job collects and
\Consolidator sends usage data to Microsoft.

The Kernel CEIP (Customer Experience

Improvement Program) task collects
additional information about the system and
Customer Experience sends this data to Microsoft. If the user has
Improvement Program not consented to participate in Windows
\KernelCeipTask CEIP, this task does nothing.

Customer Experience This job sends data about windows based on

Improvement Program user participation in the Windows Customer
\Uploader Experience Improvement Program

The USB CEIP (Customer Experience

Improvement Program) task collects
Universal Serial Bus related statistics and
information about your machine and sends
to the Windows Device Connectivity
engineering group at Microsoft. The
information received is used to help
improve the reliability, stability, and overall
Customer Experience functionality of USB in Windows. If the user
Improvement Program has not consented to participate in Windows
\UsbCeip CEIP, this task does not do anything.

Safety
Tasks Description

www.citrix.com | Technical Note | Windows 10 Optimizations 5

 Initializes Family Safety monitoring and
Shell \ FamilySafetyMonitor enforcement.

Synchronizes the latest settings with

Shell \ FamilySafetyRefresh the Family Safety website.

Can be disabled in case an alternative

Windows Defender \ Windows virus and malware protection has been
Defender CacheMaintenance implemented.

Can be disabled in case an alternative

Windows Defender \ Windows virus and malware protection has been
Defender CacheMaintenance implemented.

Can be disabled in case an alternative

Windows Defender \ Windows virus and malware protection has been
Defender Cleanup implemented.

Can be disabled in case an alternative

Windows Defender \ Windows virus and malware protection has been
DefenderScheduled Scan implemented.

Can be disabled in case an alternative

Windows Defender \ Windows virus and malware protection has been
DefenderVerification implemented.

This task adjusts the start type for

firewall-triggered services when the
Windows Filtering Platform start type of the Base Filtering Engine
\BfeOnServiceStartTypeChange (BFE) is disabled.

Maintenance \ Optimization \ Protection

Tasks Description

Scans startup entries and raises

Application Experience \ notification to the user if there are too
StartupAppTask many startup entries.

CHKDSK \ Proactive Scan NTFS Volume Health Scan

The Windows Scheduled Maintenance

Diagnosis \ Scheduled
Task performs periodic maintenance of

www.citrix.com | Technical Note | Windows 10 Optimizations 6

 the computer system by fixing
problems automatically or reporting
them through the Action Center.

The Windows Disk Diagnostic reports

DiskDiagnostic \ Microsoft- general disk and system information to
Windows- Microsoft for users participating in the
DiskDiagnosticDataCollector Customer Experience Program.

DiskDiagnostic \ Microsoft- This task warns users about faults that

Windows- occur on disks that support Self-
DiskDiagnosticResolver Monitoring and Reporting Technology

Defrag \ ScheduledDefrag This task optimizes local storage drives

Protects user files from accidental loss

by copying them to a backup location
FileHistory \ File History when the system is unattended

Measures a system’s performance and

Maintenance \ WinSAT capabilities

MemoryDiagnostic \ Schedules a memory diagnostic in

ProcessMemoryDiagnosticEvents response to system events.

MemoryDiagnostic \ Detects and mitigates problems in

RunFullMemoryDiagnostic physical memory (RAM).

This task analyzes the system looking

Power Efficiency Diagnostics \ for conditions that may cause high
AnalyzeSystem energy use.

RecoveryEnvironment \ Validates the Windows Recovery

VerifyWinRE Environment.

Registry \ RegIdleBackup Registry Idle Backup Task

This task creates regular system

SystemRestore \ SR protection points.

The Windows Diagnostic Infrastructure

Resolution host enables interactive
resolutions for system problems
detected by the Diagnostic Policy
WDI \ ResolutionHost
Service. It is triggered when necessary

www.citrix.com | Technical Note | Windows 10 Optimizations 7

 by the Diagnostic Policy Service in the
appropriate user session. If the
Diagnostic Policy Service is not
running, the task will not run

In Windows 10, these services are running, by default,

and can be stopped and disabled (Caution: Disabling
these services can result in applications not working
appropriately and will increase troubleshooting time).

Service Name Default State Default Status Notes

Set default state

to “Manual” as
3rd party
Background software might
Intelligent Automatic require the
Transfer Service (Delayed Start) Running service.

Device
Association Manual (Trigger
Service Start) Running

Diagnostic Policy
Services Automatic Running

Diagnostic
Service Host Manual Running

Diagnostic
System Host Manual Running

Diagnostics
Tracking Service Automatic Running

Function
Discovery
Provider Host Manual Running

Function
Discovery
Manual Running
Resource

www.citrix.com | Technical Note | Windows 10 Optimizations 8

 Publication

Home Group Manual (Trigger Not used in VDI

Provider Start) Running environment

Automatic
Security Center (Delayed Start) Running

Supports
Shell Hardware AutoPlay, which
Detection is not typically
Service Automatic Running used in VDI.

Not typically
used in
corporate
SSDP Discovery Manual Running environments.

Can enable for

dedicated
SuperFetch Automatic Running desktops

This will impact

the user
Themes Automatic Running experience

Windows
Connect Now –
Config Registrar Not required in
Service Manual Running VDI

Consider
disabling. Will
have a high
Automatic impact on server
Windows Search (Delayed Start) Running density.

These services are not running, but they are set to

Manual or Manual (Trigger Start). Although they are
not running, disabling them will prevent their
accidental execution in a VDI environment. (Caution:
Disabling these services can result in applications not
working appropriately and will increase

www.citrix.com | Technical Note | Windows 10 Optimizations 9

 troubleshooting time).

Service Name Default State Default Status Notes

Manual (Trigger
AllJoyn Router Start) Stopped

Application Not needed for

Layer Gateway VDI
Service Manual Stopped environments.

Drive encryption
BitLocker Drive not typically
Encryption Manual (Trigger used in VDI
Service Start) Stopped environments.

Block Level Windows backup

Backup Engine not typically
Service Manual Stopped used in VDI.

Bluetooth Hands Manual (Trigger Not typically

free Service Start) Stopped used in VDI.

Bluetooth Manual (Trigger

Support Service Start) Stopped

Used for
network savings
to a WAN and
BranchCache not typically
Service Manual Stopped needed in VDI

Computer Manual (Trigger

Browser Service Start) Stopped

Encrypting File Manual (Trigger

System Service Start) Stopped

Fax Service Manual Stopped

Not used within

Home Group corporate
Listener Manual Stopped environments.

Manual Stopped
Internet Not used within

www.citrix.com | Technical Note | Windows 10 Optimizations 10

 Connection VDI
Sharing (ICS) environments.

Manual (Trigger
Offline Files Start) Stopped

Should only
optimize in the
Optimize Drives Manual Stopped master image

Retail Demo Manual Stopped

Sensor
Monitoring Manual (Trigger
Service Start) Stopped

UPnP Device
Host Service Manual Stopped

Disable if logs
Windows Error are not being
Reporting Manual (Trigger gathered and
Service Start) Stopped analyzed

Windows Media Not typically

Player Network used in VDI
Sharing Manual Stopped environments.

Manual (Trigger Only update the

Windows Update Start) Stopped master image.

Not typically
WLAN used in VDI
AutoConfig Manual Stopped environments.

Not typically
WWAN used in VDI
AutoConfig Manual Stopped environments.

Not typically
Xbox Live Auth used in VDI
Manager Manual Stopped environments.

Not typically
Manual Stopped
Xbox Live Game used in VDI

www.citrix.com | Technical Note | Windows 10 Optimizations 11

 Save environments.

Xbox Live Not typically

Networking used in VDI
Service Manual Stopped environments.

IMPORTANT

If these services are disabled in the master image, it

will be more difficult to effectively manage the master
image. For example, if Windows Update is disabled in
the master image, an administrator will be required to
re-enable the Windows Update Service BEFORE trying
to run Windows Update. The administrator will then
have to remember to disable Windows Update when
the update process is complete.

The following Powershell commands set the Windows

Update Service to manual, and also starts the service.

$service ="wuauserv"

$result = (gwmi win32_service -computername $env:computername -

filter "name='$service'").startservice() #<------
.stopservice()

$result = (gwmi win32_service -computername $env:computername -

filter "name='$service'").ChangeStartMode("manual") #<------
“automatic”

Administering Services via Group Policy (preferred)

www.citrix.com | Technical Note | Windows 10 Optimizations 12

 HDX Optimizations
OS and User Optimization
Optimization Configuration

Disable hibernate Powercfg -h off

Turn Off Data Execution

Prention bcdedit /set nx AlwaysOff

Disable System Recovery bcdedit /set recoveryenabled no

Optimization Configuration

Disable default HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\ControlPanel\Desktop

system Screensaver “ScreenSaveActive”=dword: 00000000

Disable the Windows [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Wind

10 First ows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]
Logon Animation “EnableFirstLogonAnimation”=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\
Hide Hard Error Control\Windows]
Messages “ErrorMode”=dword:00000002

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Window
Settings “Visual s\CurrentVersion\Explorer\VisualEffects]
Effects to Custom” “VisualFXSetting”=dword:00000003

Disable “Show
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Window
translucent selection s\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced]
rectangle” “ListviewAlphaSelect”=dword:00000000

Disable “Show
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Window
shadows under s\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced]
windows” “ListviewShadow”=dword:00000000

Disable “Animate
windows when
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER
minimizing and \ControlPanel\Desktop\WindowMetrics]
maximizing” “MinAnimate”=”0”

Disable “Animations [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Window

www.citrix.com | Technical Note | Windows 10 Optimizations 13

 in the taskbar” s\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced]
“TaskbarAnimations”=dword:00000000

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Window
Disable “Enable s\DWM]
Peek” “EnableAeroPeek”=dword:00000000

Disable “Save
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Window
Taskbar Thumbnail s\DWM]
Previews” “AlwaysHibernateThumbnails”=dword:00000000

Disable “Smooth
edges of screen [HKEY_CURRENT_USER \Control Panel\Desktop]
fonts” “FontSmoothing”=”0”

Disable the rest of [HKEY_CURRENT_USER \Control Panel\Desktop\]

the visual effects “UserPreferencesMask”=RegBin: “90,12,01,80”

Disable “Cursor blink”

Disable cursor blink [HKEY_CURRENT_USER \Control Panel\Desktop]
rate “CursorBlinkRate”=”-1″

Disable Internet [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Micros

Explorer First Run oft\InternetExplorer\Main]
Wizard “DisableFirstRunCustomize”=dword:00000001

Reduce menu show [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ControlPanel\Desktop]

delay MenuShowDelay”, “0”

User Experience Optimizations

The policies below can be implemented to
optimize the Windows 10 user experience. The
following policies apply to all users on the
machine:

Computer Policy Setting

Audio Over UDP Allowed

Dynamic windows preview Enabled

Image caching Enabled

Session reliability connections Allowed

www.citrix.com | Technical Note | Windows 10 Optimizations 14

 WebSockets connections Allowed

Windows Media redirection Allowed

Windows Media redirection

buffer size 5 seconds

Windows Media redirection

buffer size use Enabled

The following policies apply per user session:

User Policy Setting

Automatic keyboard display Allowed

Client USB device redirection Allowed

Default printer Do not adjust the user's default printer

Desktop Composition
Redirection Disabled

Disconnected session timer Enabled

Disconnected session timer

interval 2880 Minutes

Extra color compression Enabled

Remote the combo box Allowed

Optimized for WAN

This template is intended for task workers in
branch offices using a shared WAN connection or
remote locations with low bandwidth connections
accessing applications with graphically simple
user interfaces with little multimedia content.
This template trades off video playback
experience and some server scalability for
optimized bandwidth efficiency. The Optimized
for WAN template was first introduced with

www.citrix.com | Technical Note | Windows 10 Optimizations 15

 XenDesktop 7.6 Feature Pack 3, and it serves as a
guideline for users traversing WAN traffic. The
example below applies the policy only to users
coming through a NetScaler:

www.citrix.com | Technical Note | Windows 10 Optimizations 16

 Printing from non-Windows end points (Mac
and Linux)
When non-Windows Receivers connect to a
Windows 2012 Server with Universal Print Driver
(UPD) options configured for client printers, the
Post-script (PS) and PCL drivers might not be
available, therefore the printers will not get
auto-created.

Manual Workaround

As a workaround, to use the Citrix UPD for non-

Windows clients, such as Mac and Linux, install
appropriate drivers on the server manually:

 PS driver = HP Color LaserJet 2800 Series PS

 PCL4 driver = HP LaserJet Series II
 PCL5c driver = HP Color LaserJet 4500 PCL 5

From the Windows Server 2012, choose Add a

printer from Devices and Printers.

Continue through the wizard as if you are adding

a local printer though it is not attached.

Click Add a local printer > select LPT1: (Printer

Port) > click Windows Update.

www.citrix.com | Technical Note | Windows 10 Optimizations 17

 From the new list, browse to HP and select the
appropriate driver as listed in the preceding
screen shot.

Add the printer.

Automated Process

To automate this process, navigate to

C:\windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository

The HP drivers from the Windows Update process

(Step 3) are located at the below location, but if
a different driver is needed, one may need to
sort by date created and find the .inf file
needed.

C:\windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\prnhp001.inf_amd
64_081cf2b90ec9e6d5

#Mac Printer redirection fix

pnputil -a
C:\windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\prnhp001.inf

printui.exe /ia /m "HP Color LaserJet 4500 PCL 5" /h "x64" /v

"HP Color LaserJet 4500 PCL 5" /f
"C:\windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\prnhp001.inf"

printui.exe /ia /m "HP LaserJet Series II" /h "x64" /v "HP

LaserJet Series II" /f
"C:\windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\prnhp001.inf"

printui.exe /ia /m "HP Color LaserJet 2800 Series PS" /h "x64"

/v "HP Color LaserJet 2800 Series PS" /f
"C:\windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\prnhp001.inf"

www.citrix.com | Technical Note | Windows 10 Optimizations 18

 Enterprise Sales
North America | 800-424-8749
Worldwide | +1 408-790-8000
Locations
Corporate Headquarters | 851 Cypress Creek Road Fort
Lauderdale, FL 33309 United States
Silicon Valley | 4988 Great America Parkway Santa Clara, CA
95054 United States
Copyright© 2016 Inc. All rights reserved. Citrix, the Citrix logo, and other marks
appearing herein are property of Citrix Systems, Inc. and/or one or more of its
subsidiaries, and may be registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in
other countries. All other marks are the property of their respective owner/s.

Citrix.com 19